Grasp for slidable shower door

ABSTRACT

A grasp for a slidable shower door includes a main portion and a pivotable handle portion biased relative to the main portion for automatic retractment from an extended position to a retracted position. A shower door assembly includes a housing for a shower door, a shower door slidably mounted to the housing for movement between a first position and a second position. The grasp is fixed to the shower door. The grasp may be magnetically or adhesively fixed to the shower door. A mounting fixture may be attached to the grasp through an aperture in the shower door for mounting the grasp to the shower door.

BACKGROUND

This invention relates in general to shower door assemblies and to components and fixtures for shower doors.

Modern homes generally include interior baths, which may include a tub, a shower or combination tub-shower. In the case of a shower, bath tub, or tub-shower combination, a water barrier such as a shower curtain or shower door is typically provided in order to retain the shower water in the shower stall, bath tub, or tub-shower combination.

There are several types of shower doors, including hinged doors and sliding doors. One type of sliding shower door is the bypass door where a sliding shower door is mounted to a shower door housing to slide past another shower door or some other type of panel, such as a fixed partition. The bypass door may be a framed or frameless panel.

In such a sliding shower door arrangement, the shower door is typically mounted along tracks that are parallel to the other shower door or panel. The shower door is typically narrowly spaced away from the other door or panel as to minimize the amount of water that may escape from the shower stall or bath tub, and/or to minimize the amount of material required in the housing for the sliding shower door arrangement.

Shower doors used in such an arrangement often include a fixture such as a towel bar, knob or handle mounted on the side facing away from the other shower door or panel. In order to mount the fixture, and due to the minimal distance between the shower door and the other shower door or panel, a shallow fastener is passed through an aperture in the shower door that attaches to the fixture.

In such an arrangement, the fixture may be used to open or close a shower door facing into the shower stall, bath tub or tub-shower combination. However, no such fixture is available to open or close a shower door facing out of the shower stall, bath tub or tub-shower combination.

SUMMARY

This invention relates more specifically to a grasp for a slidable shower door and a shower door assembly including a shower door having such a grasp.

A grasp for a slidable shower door includes a main portion and a pivotable handle portion biased relative to the main portion for automatic retractment from an extended position to a retracted position.

The handle portion may extend beyond the main portion when extended and may extend no more than the main portion when retracted.

The grasp may further include a spring connected between the handle portion and the main portion for biasing the handle portion. The spring may be a stainless steel spring.

A shower door assembly includes a housing for a shower door, a shower door slidably mounted to the housing for movement between a first position and a second position. A grasp is fixed to the shower door.

The grasp may be magnetically or adhesively fixed to the shower door.

The door may have an interior side and an exterior side and define an aperture extending between the interior side and the exterior side. A mounting fixture may be attached to the grasp through the aperture for mounting the grasp to the shower door. The mounting fixture may be a towel bar, knob or handle.

The pivotable handle portion of the grasp may have a recess disposed toward the interior side of the shower door.

The shower door assembly may include a partition including an outer facing surface attached to the housing where, when the shower door is in the first position the interior side faces the outer facing surface with the handle portion in the retracted position, and when said shower door is in the second position the interior side is exposed from the outer facing surface with the handle portion extendable. The partition may be a second shower door slidably mounted to the housing or a panel mounted to the housing.

The handle portion may have an extended length normal to the interior side that is greater than the distance between the interior side and the outer facing surface when the shower door is in the first position.

Various aspects will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a shower door assembly including a grasp attached to a mounting fixture.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1 showing the shower door assembly in a first position in solid lines and in a second position in dashed lines;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 showing the shower door of the shower door assembly with a pair of grasps attached to the mounting fixture.

FIG. 4 is a front view of one of the grasps shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view in partial cross-section of the grasp shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a side view in partial cross-section of the grasp shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a bottom view in partial cross-section similar to FIG. 5 except showing an alternative fastening arrangement;

FIG. 8 is a bottom view in partial cross-section similar to FIG. 5 except showing an other alternative fastening arrangement.

FIG. 9 is a front view of an alternative grasp;

FIG. 10 is a front view of an other alternative grasp;

FIG. 11 is a bottom view in partial cross-section similar to FIG. 5 except showing an alternative fixing arrangement; and

FIG. 12 is a bottom view in partial cross-section similar to FIG. 5 except showing an other alternative fixing arrangement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a shower door assembly 20. The shower door assembly 20 includes a housing 22 that is secured to a shower stall or bath tub 24. Preferably the interface between the housing 22 and the stall or tub 24 is sealed, such as with rubber or caulk, e.g. silicon or acrylic, in order to minimize the amount of water that may escape from the stall or tub 24 when in use.

A shower door 26 is slidably mounted to the housing 22 for movement relative to a partition, such as a second shower door 28. It must be understood however that the partition may by any type of panel, moveable or fixed, for dividing the interior of the shower stall or bath tub 24 from the exterior area. The second shower door 28 may also be slidably mounted to the housing 22 and may be generally be similar to the shower door 26.

As best shown in FIG. 2, the shower door 26 is slidably mounted to the housing 22 for movement between a first position A where the interior of the shower stall or bath tub 24 is generally divided from the exterior area and a second position B where the interior of the shower stall or bath tub 24 is generally open to the exterior area, as indicated by double arrow C.

As also shown in FIG. 3, the shower door 26 has an interior side 30 and an exterior side 32. The shower door 26 defines an aperture 34 extending between the interior side 30 and the exterior side 32.

The second shower door 28 includes an outer facing surface 36 and an inner facing surface 38. As illustrated, when the shower door 26 moves between the first position A and the second position B the interior side 30 passed over the outer facing surface 36. The distance D between the interior side 30 and the outer facing surface 36 is preferably minimized as to minimize the amount of water that may escape from the shower stall or bath tub 24. It must be understood that the shower door assembly 20 may be installed and arranged such that when the shower door 26 moves between the first position A and the second position B the exterior side 32 is passed over the inner facing surface 38.

A grasp 40 and a mounting fixture 42 are attached through the aperture 34 for mounting the grasp 40 to the shower door 26. As illustrated, the mounting fixture 42 is a towel bar. However, it must be understood that the mounting fixture 42 may be any piece of hardware suitable to attach to grasp 40 for mounting to the shower door 26, such as a knob or handle. In the present example, the grasp 40 is mounted to the interior side 30. However, it must be understood that the grasp 40 may be mounted to the exterior side 32 in such an appropriate arrangement. Additionally, as further discussed below, it must be understood that the grasp 40 may be fixed to the shower door 26 in any suitable manner, with or without aperture.

As best shown in FIGS. 4-6, the grasp 40 includes main portion 44 and a pivotable handle portion 46. The handle portion 46 is biased relative to the main portion 44 for automatic retractment from an extended position, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, to a retracted position, as shown in FIGS. 2-4.

The pivotable handle portion has an optional recess 48 disposed toward the interior side 30 of the shower door 26. When the shower door is in the first position A, the handle portion 46 may have an extended length L normal, e.g. perpendicular, to the interior side 30 that is greater than the distance D between the interior side 30 and the outer facing surface 36.

The grasp 40 may further include one or more springs 50 connected between the handle portion 46 and the main portion 44 for biasing the handle portion toward the retracted position. The spring 50 may be a stainless steel spring or made of any other material suitable resilient to bias the handle portion 46 and resist corrosion in the shower environment.

While the shower door 26 of the shower door assembly 20 has been illustrated with a pair of grasps 40 attached to a singular mounting fixture 42. It must be understood that the shower door 26 may include any number of grasps 40 and mounting fixtures 42 as desired.

For assembly, the grasp 40 may optionally include a threaded shaft 52 for engaging a threaded bore 54 in the mounting fixture 42. The grasp 40 and the mounting fixture 42 may additionally or alternatively be secured with an Allen bolt or screw 56.

As shown in FIG. 7, the main portion 44 of the grasp 40 may extend through the aperture 34 and include a threaded bore 58. A separate threaded shaft 60 may then be used to join the grasp 40 and the mounting fixture 42.

As shown in FIG. 8, the mounting fixture 42 may include a threaded shaft 62 which may engage the threaded bore 58 in the main portion 44.

In operation, when the shower door 26 is in the first position A the interior side 30 is exposed from the outer facing surface 36 with the handle portion 46 extendable from the main portion 44. When the shower door 26 is in the second position B the interior side 30 faces the outer facing surface 36 with the handle portion in the retracted position.

There is shown in FIG. 9 an alternative grasp 140 with a main portion 144 and a pivotable handle portion 146. The handle portion 146 of the grasp 140 may be twisted, or sprung, to bias itself toward the retracted position relative to the main portion 144.

There is shown in FIG. 10 an other alternative grasp 240 with main portion 244 and a pivotable handle portion 246. The handle portion 246 of the grasp 240 may be weighted and/or elongated such as to have a significant moment as to self retract due to gravity relative to the main portion 244. In such as case, the handle portion 246 may be joined to the main portion by wire or pins or any other suitable connection.

As shown in FIG. 11, the main portion 44 of the grasp 40 may be magnetically fixed to the shower door 26. In the illustrated example, a conventional flat head bolt 310 includes a threaded shaft 312 that extends through the aperture 34 and joins to the mounting fixture 42 at threaded bore 54. The main portion 44 is made of a magnetic material such as to electro-magnetically couple the grasp 40 to the flat head bolt 310 or any other suitable device, such as another fixture attached to the shower door 26 or another magnet or other magnetically attractive metal placed opposite of the grasp 40 on the shower door 26.

As shown in FIG. 12, the main portion 44 of the grasp 40 may be adhesively bonded to the shower door 26. For example, the grasp 40 may be fixed to the shower door 26 with a glass bonding adhesive 410, such as DYMAX® 425 UV curable glass-metal bonding adhesive or any other suitable adhesive.

While principles and modes of operation have been explained and illustrated with regard to particular embodiments, it must be understood, however, that this may be practiced otherwise than as specifically explained and illustrated without departing from its spirit or scope. 

1. A shower door assembly, comprising: a housing for a shower door; a shower door slidably mounted to said housing for movement between a first position and a second position, said door having an interior side and an exterior side; a grasp fixed to said shower door, said grasp including a main portion and a pivotable handle portion biased relative to the main portion for automatic retractment from an extended position to a retracted position; and a partition attached to said housing, said partition including an outer facing surface; when said shower door is in the first position, the interior side is exposed from the outer facing surface with the handle portion extendable, and where, when said shower door is in the second position, the interior side faces the outer facing surface with the handle portion in the retracted position.
 2. The shower door assembly of claim 1 where said shower door defines an aperture extending between the interior side and the exterior side and the shower door assembly further comprising a mounting fixture attached to said grasp through the aperture in said shower door for mounting said grasp to said shower door.
 3. The shower door assembly of claim 2 where said mounting fixture is a towel bar.
 4. The shower door assembly of claim 2 where said mounting fixture is a knob.
 5. The shower door assembly of claim 2 where said mounting fixture is a handle.
 6. The shower door assembly of claim 1 where the pivotable handle portion has a recess disposed toward the interior side of said shower door.
 7. The shower door assembly of claim 1 where said partition is a second shower door slidably mounted to said housing.
 8. The shower door assembly of claim 1 where said partition is a panel mounted to said housing.
 9. The shower door assembly of claim 1 where the handle portion has an extended length normal to the interior side that is greater than the distance between the interior side and the outer facing surface when the shower door is in the first position.
 10. The shower door assembly of claim 1 where the grasp further includes a spring connected between the handle portion and the main portion for biasing the handle portion.
 11. The shower door assembly of claim 10 where the spring is a stainless steel spring.
 12. The shower door assembly of claim 1 where said grasp is adhesively fixed to said shower door.
 13. The shower door assembly of claim 12 where said grasp is adhesively fixed to said shower door with a UV curable glass-metal bonding adhesive.
 14. The shower door assembly of claim 1 where said grasp is magnetically fixed to said shower door.
 15. A shower door, comprising: a shower door including hardware for slidably mounting to a shower door housing, said door having an interior side and an exterior side; a grasp fixed to said shower door, said grasp including a main portion and a pivotable handle portion biased relative to the main portion for automatic retractment from an extended position to a retracted position; and where the main portion extends a distance from the interior side, and where the handle portion extends farther away from the interior side than the main portion when extended and extends no more than the main portion when retracted.
 16. The shower door of claim 15 where said shower door defines an aperture extending between the interior side and the exterior side and the shower door assembly further comprising a mounting fixture attached to said grasp through the aperture in said shower door for mounting said grasp to said shower door.
 17. The shower door of claim 16 where said mounting fixture is a towel bar.
 18. The shower door of claim 16 where said mounting fixture is a knob.
 19. The shower door of claim 16 where said mounting fixture is a handle.
 20. The shower door of claim 15 where the pivotable handle portion has a recess disposed toward the interior side of said shower door.
 21. The shower door of claim 15 where the grasp further includes a spring connected between the handle portion and the main portion for biasing the handle portion.
 22. The shower door of claim 21 where the spring is a stainless steel spring.
 23. The shower door of claim 15 where said grasp is adhesively fixed to said shower door.
 24. The shower door of claim 23 where said grasp is adhesively fixed to said shower door with a UV curable glass-metal bonding adhesive.
 25. The shower door of claim 15 where said grasp is magnetically fixed to said shower door.
 26. A grasp for a slidable shower door, comprising: a grasp including a main portion and a pivotable handle portion biased relative to the main portion for automatic retractment from an extended position to a retracted position; and said grasp fixable to a slidable shower door; and where the handle portion extends beyond the main portion when extended and extends no more than the main portion when retracted.
 27. The grasp of claim 26 where said grasp is attachable to a mounting fixture through an aperture in the slidable shower door.
 28. The grasp of claim 26 where the pivotable handle portion has a recess.
 29. The grasp of claim 26 where the grasp further includes a spring connected between the handle portion and the main portion for biasing the handle portion.
 30. The grasp of claim 29 where the spring is a stainless steel spring.
 31. The grasp of claim 26 further comprising a means for fixing said grasp to the slidable shower door. 